APS, police investigating teacher accused of slapping 7 year-old student with autism

ATLANTA - A metro Atlanta mom wants answers after she says her 7-year-old son, who has autism, was slapped by his teacher last week. Now, officials with Atlanta Public Schools are investigating the incident.

"I don’t know what could’ve caused this lady to react in a way that she felt so threatened by my 3-foot-tall child," Reginique Stinson told FOX 5 on Saturday.

Stinson said she was stunned to learn her son Gabriel was assaulted inside his classroom at Cleveland Avenue Elementary School on Nov. 8. She said hours after the incident, she was told he was slapped so hard, another teacher heard it and reported it.

"I just can’t imagine how my son could’ve felt in that moment. He’s never experienced something like that. I don’t hit my child," she explained. "I feel like she definitely took advantage of the fact that he’s non-verbal in hitting him because she knew he can’t really speak up for himself," she added.

APS school officials confirmed both the district’s Office of Employee Relations and Atlanta Public Schools Police have opened investigations but said there was no further information available at this time.

Stinson said she still hasn’t received many details about what happened, but she’s noticed a change in her son’s behavior since then.

Gabriel (Photo submitted by family)

"Outside of me dropping him off, my sister drops him off, and she was like, ‘He didn’t want to go into his classroom,'" she recalled.

She told FOX 5 she wants to see better training of teachers dealing with special education children. She's also pushing for cameras to be installed inside all APS classrooms.

It’s unclear what the teacher’s current employment status is, but Stinson said she has since taken her son out of that class. She’s also considering switching schools altogether.